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04/14/2013

America’s children need your help to fight for funding for much needed feeding programs. The US House and Senate are making decisions about funding for hunger-relief programs.Hunger in America is pervasive. Food security is necessary to lead a productive, healthy, and active life. It has been reported that more than forty-nine (49) million Americans lack reliable access to the food. Childhood hunger is a growing reality in America. In one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the prevalence of childhood hunger is a national travesty and for many a well kept secret.

Approximately, one in four children in America is food insecure. As is aptly stated in the materials by Share Our Strength i “No Hungry Kid”, “…their bodies may not be rail thin, nor their bellies bloated like their counterparts in other countries, but they’re at risk of hunger all the same. They lack the energy to learn, grow, and thrive.” It is a well known fact that proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of healthy children.

Statistics on Childhood Hunger in the United States: • According to the USDA, over 17 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2009. ii • 20% or more of the child population in 16 states and D.C. are living in food insecure households. The states of Arkansas (24.4 percent) and Texas (24.3 percent) have the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food. (Cook, John, Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2006-2008. iii • In 2009, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (21.3 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (36.6 percent) or single men (27.8 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (24.9 percent) and Hispanic households (26.9 percent).v

With 46.2 million residents, Poverty, USA, is the largest state in America. Despite recent economic growth more than 43 million Americans -including 14.7 million children – live in poverty, the highest in the more than 50 years that the data has been tracked. Yet a recent Gallup poll found that only 5% of Americans believe poverty and homelessness are important problems for the country. So let’s look at some facts and make our own determination:

Over 25 percent of the children in the US under the age of six live in poverty. The poverty rate among women climbed to 14.5 percent in 2010 from 13.9 percent in 2009, the highest in 17 years. As poverty surged last year to its highest level since 1993, median household income declined, leaving the typical American household earning less in inflation-adjusted dollars than it did in 1997. One out of every six Americans is now being served by at least one government anti-poverty program. Child homelessness in the United States is now 33 percent higher than it was back in 2007. More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid, the U.S. government health care program designed principally to help the poor.

According to the National Center on Family Homelessness, 1.6 million American children “were living on the street, in homeless shelters or motels, or doubled up with other families last year”. The percentage of children living in poverty in the United States increased from 16.9 percent in 2006 to nearly 22 percent in 2010. One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.

The number of children living in poverty in the United States has risen for four years in a row. There are ten (10) different states where at least one out of every four babies is born to a family living in poverty. 28 percent of all households in America have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job. There are seven million children in the United States today that are not covered by health insurance at all.

Please call your US House Representatives and Senators and ask them to support programs that improve the quality of life for what the Bible terms “…the least of these”. If the line is busy, please redial and call again. Please let your elected officials in Washington know that you care about children and families living in poverty.

Feeding America has drafted a message that you can delivered to your elected officials:

“As your constituent, I ask you to please urge the Senate Agriculture Committee to protect and strengthen hunger-relief programs. My community cannot afford for these programs to be cut.”

We can only make a difference when we take action.

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result. ~ Gandhi

“Don’t miss your chance to make an impact, dial your elected officials in Washington DC now!

i In 1984, Share Our Strength, was started by the brother and sister team of Bill and Debbie Shore started the organization with the belief that everyone has strength to share in the global fight against hunger and poverty, and that in these shared strengths lie sustainable solutions.

12/02/2011

It was reported that Martina Davis Correia ( courageous sister of Troy Davis sister), founding member of Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty, died yesterday evening, surrounded by family and friends. For the past ten years, Martina has been fighting breast cancer and had become very ill and weak in the last few months. Despite her ill health, Martina exhibited incredible conviction and determination.

When speaking about her brother Troy’s execution Martina said, “I want people to know that we didn’t fail. As long as we keep hammering away at this thing, as long as we refuse to give up, we haven’t failed. We’ll be doing what Troy would have wanted us to do. Our efforts made an impact and we’ll continue to make an impact.” That is always how she was. She refused to be defeated. She always looked to the positive; she always looked to ways we could mobilize to win.

Thousands of people all over the world were touched and moved to action by her powerful voice and fiery spirit. The courage and might she exhibited in fighting for her brother while battling breast cancer, captures the essence of her incredible strength and passion that will continue to inspire people. I have been consistently moved by her courage and commitment to ensuring justice. I feel very honored and privileged to have fought alongside Martina and Troy’s family for justice and an end to the death penalty.

11/08/2011

Today is Election Day? Across the country critical state and municipal elections are taking place. Get out and vote today! The elections taking place today range from referendums to state legislatures polls to gubernatorial matchups. Whatever the local or state election, it’s vital that you make your voice heard. Get involved. Take action that can and will change the future. If you are not already registered, get registered to vote. Seize the opportunity to cast your vote. As was aptly stated by President Johnson when discussing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

Saturday, July 16th 2011, was declared National Day of Action by the Democratic Party. Across the country there are efforts being made to bring new supporters into the campaign. It has been reported that volunteers in all 50 states will be knocking on doors and registering new voters. The overarching goal for this campaign is to register voters in order to ensure: the reelection of President Barack Obama and that Democrats take back the United States Houseof Representatives.

This summer, important action was taken to bring more people into the political process- thus making certain that every voter who wants to exercise their right is registered. There are three stages in the voter empowerment process: registration, education, and mobilization. Today, Democratic supporters can join a national day of action dedicated to voter registration. Get involved. Your vote can be decisive, stand up, speak out, be heard— vote!

Each election day, countless eligible voters deprive themselves of their voting right through complacency or apathy. Don’t be among them—exercise your right to vote.

07/25/2011

Today, Bread for World sent out an Action Alert discussing the “Circle of Protection: A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor” and encouraging supporters to take action to support funding for programs that serve the most vulnerable members of society. In Bread for World’s Action Alert, Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, states that, “Everything we have achieved for poor and hungry people in the last 35 years is under severe threat of budget cuts—nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and SNAP (formerly food stamps), as well as poverty-focused development assistance.”

This is not the time to be cutting very necessary programs for the most vulnerable members of our society. It has been reported that more than 49 million Americans lack reliable access to the food. Childhood hunger is a growing reality in America. In one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the prevalence of childhood hunger is a national travesty and for many a well-kept secret. Approximately, one in four children in America is food insecure.

Statistics on Childhood Hunger in the United States: According to the USDA, over 17 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2009. ii 20% or more of the child population in 16 states and D.C. are living in food insecure households. The states of Arkansas (24.4 percent) and Texas (24.3 percent) have the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food.(Cook, John, Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2006-2008. iii

In 2009, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than thenational average included households with children (21.3 percent),especially households with children headed by single women (36.6 percent)or single men (27.8 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (24.9 percent)and Hispanic households (26.9 percent).v

These heartbreaking facts about the prevalence and the face of hunger in America and the proposed cuts to very necessary social service programs has drawn the attention of thousands of Christians, people of other faiths, heads of denominations, corporations, and nonprofit organizations and compelled them to take action. These groups have formed what has been termed a Circle of Protection around funding for programs that are vital to hungry and poor people both in the United States and abroad. It has been reported that in excess of thirteen thousand (13,000) Americans have signed a memorandum to their members of Congress, supporting the need to reduce deficits but not at the expense of hungry and poor people. The “Circle of Protection” statement reads as follows:

“In the face of historic deficits, the nation faces unavoidable choices about how to balance needs and resources and allocate burdens and sacrifices. These choices are economic, political—and moral.

As Christians, we believe the moral measure of the debate is how the most poor andvulnerable people fare. We look at every budget proposal from the bottom up—howit treats those Jesus called “the least of these” (Matthew 25:45). They do nothave powerful lobbies, but they have the most compelling claim on our consciences and common resources. The Christian community has an obligation to help them be heard, to join with others to insist that programs that serve the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world are protected. We know from our experience serving hungry and homeless people that these programs meet basic human needs and protect the lives and dignity of the most vulnerable. We believe that God is calling us to pray, fast, give alms and to speak out for justice.

As Christian leaders, we are committed to fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice. We are also committed to resist budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people. Therefore, we join with others to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.

1. The nation needs to substantially reduce future deficits, but not at the expense of hungry and poor people.

2. Funding focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. It should be made as effective as possible, but not cut.

3. We urge our leaders to protect and improve poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance to promote a better, safer world.

4. National leaders must review and consider tax revenues, military spending, and entitlements in the search for ways to share sacrifice and cut deficits.

5. A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way toreduce deficits.

6. The budget debate has a central moral dimension. Christians are asking how we protect “the least of these.” “What would Jesus cut?” “How do we share sacrifice?”

7. As believers, we turn to God with prayer and fasting, to ask for guidance as our nation makes decisions about our priorities as a people.

8. God continues to shower our nation and the world with blessings. As Christians, we are rooted in the love of God in Jesus Christ. Our task is to share these blessings with loveand justice and with a special priority for those who are poor.

Budgets are moral documents, and how we reduce future deficits are historic and defining moral choices. As Christian leaders, we urge Congress and the administration to give moral priority to programs that protect the life and dignity of poor and vulnerable people in these difficult times, our broken economy, and our wounded world. It is the vocation and obligation of the church to speak and act on behalf of those Jesus called “the least of these.” This is our calling, and wewill strive to be faithful in carrying out this mission.”—Circle of Protection

This summer, Bread for the World supporters and others are encouraged to visit or call their senators and representatives at their local offices to urge them to protect funding for programs for hungry people. For further information about shared sacrifice or the “Circle of Protection” visit one of the sources listed below.

All friends, colleagues, students, and admirers of Mihajlo Mihajlov (1934-2010) are cordially invited to participate in a re-assessment of his life, work, and legacy whose significance reaches well beyond Tito’s Yugoslavia, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe. Mihajlov’s quest for democracy and human rights is an inspiration for all who strive for an open society, pluralism, and tolerance. An indefatigable human rights champion, Mihajlov’s example contributed to the rise of dissent, civic culture, and civil society which ushered in momentous changes culminating in the peaceful revolution in Eastern Europe and the demise of Soviet rule. Mihajlov’s first freedoms–speech, thought, press, assembly, association, philosophical, political and religious persuasion–remain a continuing challenge, East and West, North and South. Curiously, Mihajlov’s thought offers a conceptual bridge between Westernizers and Slavophiles, while his universalism helped him befriend dissidents of all ethnic groups. Indeed, Mihajlov’s was a universal message of individual freedom and social justice. His undogmatic spirituality and central conception of human dignity drew on Russian religious philosophy. The question arises: Can the quest for global democracy and basic human rights and freedoms be realized in a world of competing socio-economic, political, and ethno-national interests and ideologies? Can equality be reconciled with liberty? And, can science and technology be harnessed to serve, rather than enslave, humanity? –Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

01/05/2011

Paint a mental picture of your Church last Sunday morning. Can you see where everyone is sitting? Looking pretty familiar? Same as the week before?

Now look again. Domestic abuse and violence affects one in four of these people. It’s hard to believe isn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s true.

If one of these people came to you looking for help, would you know where to begin? Most don’t. Which is why Peace and Safety in the Christian Home (PASCH) run ground-breaking conferences aimed at raising awareness and offering practical tools with which to help.

Our upcoming conference, Emerging from the Shadows, to be held [...] at Columbia Bible College in the Vancouver area, will address these basic issues. --Peace and Safety in the Christian Home